KiwiRail Trans Alpine scenic train journey through the mountains

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It's with great relief that I finally board the Kiwi Railway for my trip across the southern alps to Christchurch. Greymouth is left behind and I settle into my carriage to find out what to expect from this long anticipated journey. We have headphones to listen to tour guide stuff if we want to. There's an onboard cafe, where I get myself a veggie lasagne, knowing I'll be in Christchurch too late to go to the shops by the time we arrive. It's one of those microwave things and is actually served IN the microwave packaging so I'm not that impressed with the effort. At least I'm fed. I then head to the open air carriage to see what this is like. The lady at the cafe carriage gave some good advice about going to the one at the back of the train as it's less busy usually.

The open air carriage turns out to be where I spend most of the train journey. The scenery is stunning the whole way with massive mountains, majestic rivers glistening in the sun and amazing beauty all around. I take so many photos, it's ridiculous. The train is winding its way through the valleys in between the mountains and I realise what an amazing engineering feat it must have been to get this railway track put in. At one section those of us in the open air carriage are ushered back to our seats and I listen to the commentary to find out about the 5 mile long Otira tunnel we are about to pass through. The mountain it goes through was the big barrier that had made a trans alpine route almost impossible to complete. Many different options were considered at the time but this 5 mile tunnel had finally been settled on. It took many years to complete with two whole communities living at each end of the tunnel. It sounds like they had a harsh lifestyle, the area being really wet and grim most of the time. The tunnel actually climbs at a gradient of one metre per thirty metres distance covered and because of this takes nearly as long to get through as the channel tunnel in Europe. We pass what is left of one of these little communities, with cute wooden houses alongside the track. The houses are now let out to people who want to live an alternative lifestyle, prepared to put up with the bad weather and isolation. We emerge from the tunnel to mile after mile of yet more massive mountains.

Every so often a road runs alongside the rail track and people stopped in cars at the crossing points wave to us and take photos. But for the most part we travel for mile upon mile with virtually no habitation. Occasionally I spot a camper van down by the river surrounded by stupendous views all around and realise why this form of transport is so popular with many tourists. We arrive at Arthur's Pass and stop for five minutes to let some new passengers on board. A chance to stretch legs and take a few more photos before hopping back on board, us originals let in via the sneaky route into the open air carriage thanks to our lovely 'conductor'.

And so we continue on, the train moving through the mountains, snaking slowly around some really steep curves. As we get closer towards the Christchurch side of the pass we travel alongside deep gorges with the brilliant blue Waimakariri River winding its way through them. The train now goes through many smaller tunnels and we are allowed to stay in the open air carriage to go through these. It's a bit stinky for a while as we go through but they are so short we are soon out in the fresh air again. We cross over a high viaduct that from a distance looks far too delicate to take the weight of a train. We manage it across without mishap so it must just be an optical illusion.

Sadly the mountains begin to give way to the flatter Canterbury plains as we get closer and closer to Christchurch. The weather is starting to become a little drizzly and misty now so it's ok. We suddenly find ourselves stopped by the side of a road with a farm on our right and wonder why as there isn't a station here. An announcement comes over the tannoy to let us know that tragically a pedestrian didn't get off the track in time and has been hit by the train. We sit for ages while an ambulance, fire engine and police cars arrive. We realise that the person has died when we find the train is being treated as part of the 'crime scene'. We never do find out if it was an accident or intentional. The staff are so professional and keep us informed, bring us water and complimentary ice-creams to keep us going during this long unexpected delay. It's a fairly somber train load of people who eventually disembark in Christchurch, a sad end to an otherwise wonderful day.

I choose to ignore the taxis waiting at the station and set off into the night to walk to my hostel, thinking it's not too far from a cursory perusal of my map. I begin to regret this decision after what seems like an age of walking through deserted out of town shopping areas, my case dragging along behind me, feeling completely conspicuous and a little vulnerable, there being no other pedestrians around. Fortunately I do eventually make it into a more residential area, but there's still ages to go and I'm not entirely convinced of where I am. Luckily I spot a traffic cop doing a spot of radar gun speed checks and he soon gets me back on track. I eventually make it to a more familiar area and cross the little bridge near the hospital, walk alongside the Botanical Garden and with relief arrive at my hostel.

Just one more day in New Zealand and it's an early start so I away to my bed, a very squeaky bunk, and try to get some shut eye. Zzzzzz

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